PC to host Women's Leadership Conference in April

PC to host Women’s Leadership Conference in April

On Friday, April 8, Presbyterian College will host a Women’s Leadership Conference on campus. Erika Gotfredson and Rebecca Rowell, each a senior English major with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, are members of the planning committee for the upcoming conference. Below Erika and Rebecca discuss their passion for the topic of women’s leadership and more details about the event.

Q: How did you both become involved in the planning process for the Women’s Leadership Conference?

EG: Rebecca and I are both passionate about finding ways to start discussions concerning the obstacles that women continue to face in society; interestingly, our friendship formed on the basis of this common interest. When Ms. Leni Patterson, the Executive Director of Alumni Relations, approached us to become involved with the planning committee last semester, we both jumped on the opportunity. We joined a number of other PC female students, faculty, and staff members who all have a vision for this event, and we’ve been planning ever since.

RR: The purpose of this conference will be to provide a safe space for PC female students to partner with PC female faculty/staff members to engage in conversations on the topic of women leadership. This leadership can be within a variety of settings that include particular careers, everyday interactions, and more. We want to encourage PC women to begin this conversation of what it means to be a woman leader and barriers we might face as a result.

Q: What is the format of the event?

EG: We will begin with small breakout sessions, co-led by a female upperclassman and a faculty or staff member, in which the leaders will facilitate discussions on a number of topics concerning women and various obstacles we continue to face in society. Afterward, women will attend a panel discussion featuring various prominent female leaders from the state of South Carolina. We are really excited about the women who will join us for the panel discussion, including the Honorable Liz Patterson, the Honorable Inez Tenenbaum, and the Honorable Justice Kay Hearn. Following the panel, women will be invited to a reception with the panelists to conclude the conference.

RR: We hope to create a setting for PC female students to learn about what all is entailed when you attend a conference. Therefore, we will mimic that traditional setting of a conference, but do so in a more familiar context where they are learning but are also more comfortable. Women will listen to the panel discussion to understand what current women leaders face within the community and advice for overcoming obstacles. Prior to this panel discussion, they will have a chance to engage in this beginning conversation with peers and professors of how they themselves can put into practice those bold leadership skills in life now, or their future chosen profession.

Q: Why is this conference important to you?

EG: My freshman year at PC, I had the opportunity to work alongside a senior woman who was president of the Student Government Association. She “took me under her wings,” so to say, and allowed me to shadow her as she held meetings and engaged in discussions with members of PC’s administration about rather important topics. Her biggest impact on me was encouraging my wildest dreams and visions for my time at PC and then aiding me in seeing those dreams come to fruition. Emma taught me what leadership was, especially in her role as a woman in a position of authority, and I have attempted to channel her influence into my remaining time at PC.

Since I declared a Women’s and Gender Studies minor during my sophomore year of college, I’ve had the opportunity to take classes that have continued to open my eyes to women’s issues that are widespread in society even today. Thus, I consider my involvement in the planning of the Women’s Leadership Conference just one small thing I can do to attempt to empower the incredible women around me to utilize their voices and continue forming their own paths.

RR: As a Women’s and Gender Studies minor, I have a deep passion for the topic of women’s studies and how it’s relevant for women today. When I first took Dr. Emily Taylor’s Intro to Women and Gender’s Studies course as an elective, I began looking into a course of study that now has become very much my overall topic of undergraduate research. It is also a topic I bring into my daily life. As I continued through PC, I began preparing for a future career as an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, and had to rely on mentors to guide me. Soon I found a plethora of women who were paving the way for women leadership within the church. The church places many obstacles in the way of these clergywomen simply because of their gender. However, all my mentors persevere and don’t hesitate to help lead me in my own journey. I want to see this type of mentorship for all PC women.This conference will provide that opportunity for PC students to look at the mentors here on campus. Therefore, they can find someone who will guide them with support and/or advice for the choppy sea that is being a woman in a predominantly male society.

Community, I have found, is vitally important for women to succeed due to our underrepresentation of female leaders across the board. Thus, it is necessary for us to foster community here at PC, where students can feel supported by PC female staff/professors as they plan for what comes next following graduation.

Q: Why do you think this conference is important for the PC community?

EG: My goal is to see PC’s campus become a place where conversations about various societal issues–sexism, racism, classism–are regular and widespread. My collegiate career would not have been the same if my professors did not challenge me to incorporate the knowledge we learned into my broader understanding of the world and my place in it; I now know how crucial their encouragement to do so has been in my development during my time at PC. I feel that PC has made me a more informed global citizen, and I have the hope that PC does the same for other students as well. The upcoming Women’s Leadership Conference is just one way that we can start these conversations!

RR: We have women on campus! No, I’m kidding; however, this is an important reason why we need this type of event on campus. Women make up a majority of the student body here, and therefore these students also need to be educated about their identity as a woman. What about them do they want to fully express and/or claim? This type of conference is a springboard for this very subject matter. College, after all, is about an exploration of oneself from childhood to adulthood and who we want to be in this world. This includes for females our identity as women. We need a community that understands that exploration we embark on, to remind us that we are not alone. PC women will be able to unite with peers and staff/professors for this very journey.

Written by Erika Gotfredson, a senior English major by Duluth, Ga. and Rebecca Rowell, a senior English major from Lugoff, S.C.